Sad-eyed lady, should I wait?

February 2, 2010

As I briefly discussed yesterday, I was a student teacher before making my foray into music journalism. When Phoenix played in Vancouver on January 22, I spoke briefly with a couple of my former students who I bumped into in the lobby of the Orpheum. During the encore, when dozens of people flooded onto the stage, one of my students was among the first people on the scene. It was before security completely gave up, so he was grabbed and forced back into the audience. Fascists! If I taught you one thing, fight back with all of your might!

Read my full description of the stage-rushing madness in this month’s issue of BeatRoute. Also, be sure to check out Pheonix’s recent cover of Bob Dylan‘s “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands,” the epic acoustic waltz that comes at the end of Blonde on Blonde. The track was recorded live for Germany’s Musikexpress.

I think you did a fine job on the review in BeatRoute, but I don’t understand why “the group’s booking as the inaugural music event of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad was a little baffling.”
The mandate of the Cultural Olympiad is not solely to “showcase Canada’s artistic talent pool.” Quite the opposite — isn’t the motto of the Olympiad “Where the World’s Best Come to Play”?

PART of the focus is on Canadian artists — Feist, K’Naan, that all-star Neil Young Tribute — but the whole point of the Olympics (the cultural and athletic components) is having the best from all over the world coming here. Who knows if Phoenix would have even come from Versailles to Vancouver if not for the Olympiad? And I think it’s great that they have Canadian opening acts with higher-profile international artists – with Phoenix, you get Abbotsford’s YSP!WSD!. With Steve Earle, Nova Scotia’s Joel Plaskett.

Just a minor point in the (otherwise good) review, but I thought it was worth pointing out.
cheers!